Just Let the Voters Sort the Lies Out Themselves

Sometimes, in politics, people take firm, principled stands that cost them dearly.

The general election race is only a week old in the 2nd Congressional District of Kansas, and both women running have already taken such stands: Congresswoman Nancy Boyda by rejecting independent expenditures on her behalf, and Lynn Jenkins for not.

Think whatever you want about Boyda's push to prevent outside groups from spending on her race- Lord knows her war chest is in pretty fantastic form, but every last dollar spent on her behalf makes her even more safe than she already is. But her desire to keep this campaign in Kansas Kansas-centered is noble- it's about making politics what it's supposed to be, a reflection of the will of the people being represented, not of some DC-based action group.

Lynn's position is similar to most of the positions she's taken so far: Lock-step compliance with the national GOP platform & and an identical disconnect from the voters we saw from Jim Ryun- exactly the kind of messaging she needs if she plans to get crushed in November.

In this particular instance, Lynn brings us the best of Karl Rove politics: Stand idly by as her big money cronies shove as many lies and as much distortion down the throats of voters that they can't tell up from down and then reap the benefits. Most people running for elective office have the good sense to never admit to anything that cynical- or out-and-out un-American- it is true no one on this blog has ever accused Lynn Jenkins of having good sense:

“It’s free speech,” Jenkins said. “Let anybody come tell their story and let the voters sort it out.”

Of course it's free speech, and, yes, anyone can say anything they want. But, as someone hoping to be a representative of the people of the Kansas 2nd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, one would hope you would have the common decency to stand up for those would-be constituents and say, "Enough of the lies, enough big money influence, let's talk about the issues important to Kansans and not the issues important to Washington, DC special interests." No, the mind-numbing ambition of our little state treasurer certainly won't allow that. Instead, Lynn, you're doing what the man you beat did- you're just going to sit back and let Washington dictate to you what needs done, and heaven help the people of the Second District start hearing real-live lies about Nancy Boyda, because you sure as Hell aren't going to do a damn thing about it.

Lynn, it's this kind of cavalier "just let the voters sort out the lies themselves" attitude coming from the Republican Party that put this country in the miserable mess we're in today. How do you expect the people of the district to trust you to represent them in Congress if you won't even make sure the election your running in is fair & honest?

This kind of rhetoric is old and tired- the same song and dance we had for 10 years that voters rejected in 2006.

"People are so tired of that kind of partisanship that they're looking for a change," Boyda said. "They've had enough of the infighting, and that's why I'm running for re-election: because Congress needs the right kind of change."

Lynn Jenkins, ladies and gentlemen- just more of the same.